On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 12:49 PM, David Turk <dt...@indianahistory.org> wrote:
> Normally, I don't recommend using generic ink, but if you're not going for > excellent color reproduction or archival quality, generics can save you $. There are companies, but not a lot of them, that make "generic" inks for many printers that provide for better color reproduction and a higher degree of archival quality than the inks offered by the printer makers themselves. These ink makers do not primarily cater to folks who are simply looking for cheaper inks for their printers, but rather to folks who seek very high quality inks for purposes usually related to the production of artwork. Some of their basic are less expensive then what is offered by the printer manufacturer, while many of their higher-end inks are not, and some of their ink sets are not even offered by the printer maker, probably most specifically the quadtone inksets and carbon-based inks for black and white imaging. These carbon-based inks can create b&w images that are virtually indistinguishable from real photographic silver prints. Higher end inks are usually paired up with certain papers using ICC color profiles to be able to achieve the intended final result. My point is that third-party ink makers are not necessarily providers of lesser quality inks. However, most generic ink makers do not provide inks that are the equivalent of the original inks made by the printer manufacturer. The best generic ink suppliers will give you information about how their inks stack up against the originals. They will do this by comparing the chemical analysis of their inks against the inks made by the printer manufacturer, including two important points, the viscosity and ph factors of the ink. Steve ************************************************************************* ** List info, subscription management, list rules, archives, privacy ** ** policy, calmness, a member map, and more at http://www.cguys.org/ ** *************************************************************************
